1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric vehicle, such as a pure electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle, that has an electric motor for driving wheels.
2. Description of Related Art
Electric vehicles, unlike common engine vehicles, are equipped with an electric system that handles large current and that includes, for example, an electric motor for driving wheels, a high-capacity and high-voltage battery, an inverter that converts direct-current power from the battery into alternating-current power that is suitable to drive the electric motor, etc. Therefore, the electric vehicles are provided with various safety measures for the electric system and measures against defects in the system, which are not provided for the engine vehicles.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-216833 (JP 2007-216833 A) discloses a technology that prevents an event in conjunction with a hybrid vehicle in which while the hybrid vehicle is traveling, an engine stop signal is input to a control device, and the engine is forced to stop, so that large current flows via the electric motor and the amount of discharge from the main battery exceeds the upper limit, and as a result, the service life of the battery shortens.